A self-described lender behind a foreclosure claim on Elvis Presley’s iconic Graceland used forged signatures on a nonexistent loan, the singer’s granddaughter has alleged in her attempt to halt the sale of the Memphis, Tennessee, compound.
Riley Keough, a successful dramatic actor also known as Danielle Riley Keough, has filed a claim in Tennessee civil court that alleges the creditor behind the foreclosure claim used forged signatures.
Keough, who was granted virtual control of Graceland Mansion and much of Elvis’ estate after her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, died last year, alleges in the suit that the creditor’s paperwork on a $3.8 million loan to Graceland trustees, with a deed of trust on the compound pledged as collateral, is fraudulent.
In a statement, Elvis Presley Enterprises — the entity that runs Graceland and the assets of the Elvis Presley Trust — suggested the announced sale is a scheme.
“Elvis Presley Enterprises can confirm that these claims are fraudulent. There is no foreclosure sale. Simply put, the counter lawsuit has been filed is to stop the fraud,” it said.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Shelby County Chancery Court, alleges that the loan never happened, that Lisa Marie Presley never gave it her signature, that the creditor — identified in a public notice of sale as Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC — doesn’t exist and that the loan’s notary public never notarized it.
The suit alleges the foreclosure sale, which had been scheduled for Thursday, would thus be “non-judicial” and based on lien paperwork that violates Tennessee law.
Naussany Investments did not respond to a request for comment Monday. Kurt Naussany, named as a defendant because the suit claims he represented Naussany Investments, said by email that he left the firm in 2015 and should not be named in the filing.
A hearing on Keough’s claim was scheduled for Wednesday, according to court documents.
A representative for Morton & Germany, the firm representing Keough, confirmed to NBC News that a temporary restraining order has been granted in the case but that the judge will determine in court Wednesday whether to delay the foreclosure.
Keough will not be in attendance for Wednesday’s hearing.
Elvis bought Graceland Mansion in 1957 and lived there until he died in 1977. Five years later it was opened to the public as a music history theme park. Today it attracts roughly 600,000 visitors a year, according to the venue.
The end-of-life presence of Elvis, a white musician who brought Black American youth music and his own lascivious hips to the masses beginning in the early 1950s, transformed the grounds into a sacred temple of rock ‘n’ roll for legions.
Heirs, including Keough, and her mother, Lisa Marie, Elvis’ only child, have vowed to keep it in the family. The estate at times had taken on debt, but grandmother Priscilla, who will be 79 on Friday, has been credited with paying it down.
The compound, where Elvis rests, occupies nearly 14 acres.
Gemma DiCasimirro, Josh Cradduck and Doha Madani contributed.
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